A face emerging from the soil offers an immediate connection with the past. At Aizanoi, in western Turkey, two sculpted heads identified as Aphrodite and Dionysus added to a much larger picture of religion and artistic life in an ancient city.
Coşkun’s comments and the separate Hygieia find
Excavation coordinator Gökhan Coşkun explained the significance of the sculpted heads in the 2021 report:
"are important findings for us, as they show that the polytheistic culture of ancient Greece existed for a long time without losing its importance in the Roman era. The findings suggest that there may have been a sculpture workshop in the region."
The same feature discussed a separate, headless statue identified as Hygieia, reported in August 2021. Coşkun said:
"Unfortunately, (the head) hasn't survived to the present day, but in its current form, we can see that this statue is about the size of a human."
He linked that discovery with earlier finds:
"During past digs in Aizanoi, finds related to Hygieia were also found. This situation makes us think that there may have been some construction and buildings related to the health cult in Aizanoi during the Roman era."
These remarks preserve the excavator’s hypotheses about production and religious activity. Neither a regional workshop nor a particular health-cult building follows automatically from the isolated sculptures.
What the 2021 discovery established
In October 2021, excavation coordinator Gökhan Coşkun described the finds in an interview with Anadolu Agency. The heads were recovered during work in the ancient city, near modern Çavdarhisar in Kütahya province.
The identifications connect them with deities familiar from the Greek religious tradition. Their archaeological setting also belongs to the history of a city that flourished under Roman rule. Those are compatible descriptions: Greek artistic and religious traditions continued to circulate within the Roman world.
A possible workshop is a question to investigate
Coşkun suggested that the findings could point toward a sculpture workshop in the region. That is an interpretation, not a workshop plan already proved by the discovery of two heads.
To investigate such a possibility, archaeologists would look for converging evidence: unfinished pieces, production waste, tools, stone sources or patterns in workmanship and distribution. A promising hypothesis tells researchers what to examine next.
Put the faces back into the city
Aizanoi is known for major surviving structures, including its Temple of Zeus and theater-stadium complex. The UNESCO Tentative List entry provides an overview of the site. It records settlement layers around the Temple of Zeus dated to the third millennium BC, Roman control from 133 BC, and intensive building in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. Tentative listing is part of a nomination process; it is not the same as inscription on the World Heritage List.
Looking at a head alone can emphasize expression and hairstyle. Looking at the wider site invites different questions: where might a statue have stood, who commissioned it, and how did its setting change over time? Avoid supplying confident answers when its original placement has not been established.
A discovery worth following carefully
The attraction of these finds is not that they prove one culture stayed perfectly unchanged. They help reveal connections across periods, communities and visual traditions.
For a comparison with sculpture assembled through later collecting, explore the Torlonia marbles. For another intersection of religion and daily life, read about ramps at ancient Greek healing sanctuaries. Both stories show why an object or building becomes more meaningful when its context stays attached.
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Original references and creator profiles: Anadolu agency; Greek Reporter.
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